Sunday, July 23, 2017

Flood-hit Christchurch braces as high tide hits

A building team will be visiting flood-affected areas in Christchurch
this afternoon to assess damage to homes, as the city braces for affects
of the high tide.
Towns and cities across the southeast of the South Island are dealing
with floodwaters in the wake of this week's winter storm. The weather is clearing, but states of emergency remain in place for the Otago region, including Dunedin and Waitaki, and for Christchurch and Selwyn.

This morning's high tide in Christchurch was lower than expected and
there were no overnight evacuations of the Southshore or Heathcote River
areas. But the torrential rain that caused the Heathcote to burst its
banks yesterday has filled nearby basins and they will take days to
drain.
The Christchurch City Council said the Heathcote's level remained high, and was likely to stay that way for some time.
The next high tide - which was expected at 4.15pm - might cause some
further flooding, it said. The Heathcote River is expected to peak at
5.30pm.
Christchurch Civil Defence said the lower Heathcote would be the most
affected, but predicted it would be lower than yesterday's high tide
water levels.

Christchurch mayor Lianne Dalziel told Sunday Morning rain in the city had slowed, with the forecast ahead looking good.
She said while stormy weather had been expected in the city, the flooding that followed was unique.
"The low pressure out to sea and pushing in the tide, so really
getting a wall of water in behind the tide, that really created
something that we hadn't seen here, really, for a very, very long time."
Officials would be monitoring the next high tide and would make a
call about whether the city's state of emergency needed to stay in
place, she said.
"Sometimes I think it's better to keep it in place for a little bit
longer than maybe is required, just as a precautionary measure."
Ms Dalziel said emergency response teams door-knocked up to about 80
to 100 houses yesterday morning, and a lot of people had already made
the decision to leave their homes based on earlier advice.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/audio/player?audio_id=201852065

Duane Burgess heads back into
the floodwaters in Christchurch on Saturday to deliver some medication
to a friend, whose house on Riverlaw Terrace is now surrounded with
water. Photo: RNZ / Rachel Graham

The floods were a reminder that Christchurch still hadn't recovered from the 2010 earthquakes, she said.
"Our land drainage recovery programme is a... multi-million dollar
programme over many years, and we have systematically been going through
the areas of Christchurch that require additional work."
She said the worst affected areas in Christchurch were the lower reaches of the Heathcote River.
The areas affected by the last major floods in Christchurch in 2014
had not been affected - which showed the land drainage recovery
programme was working, she said.
But some residents living near the Heathcote River told RNZ they were
shocked at how quickly the city's rivers flooded during the rainstorm
over the past few days.
Catherine Ryan said her family was stuck inside their house last night, surrounded by the rising water.
She had seen the river rise to similar levels before, with
earthquake-damaged infrastructure struggling to handle the excess water,
but was still surprised at how quickly it flooded this weekend.

Floodwaters near Christchurch's Heathcote River, including on Eastern Terrace, pictured, were high but receding on Sunday. Photo: Sean Scanlon

Floodwaters likely to be contaminated

Christchurch Civil Defence Controller Mary Richardson said the
floodwaters were likely to be contaminated, so people must wash their
hands if they came into contact with any.
She said while the mains water supply was safe to drink, people should keep their use of it for other purposes to a minimum.
"We are asking people across the city to limit their water use, or
limit their water use that produces wastewater, like flushing toilets or
washing, because our wastewater pumps are having to handle the
increased inflow."
Water on Banks Peninsula would be supplied by tankers and safe for drinking, Ms Richardson said.
The welfare centre set up at Linwood College closed last night as
many of those evacuated chose to stay with friends and family instead.